Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War 1917 ‘Western Front’ D.S.O., Second War American Bronze Star group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel F. Cassels, Royal Sussex Regiment, later Intelligence Corps, who served with the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre at Latchmere House during the Second War as part of the M-Room of Secret Listeners, and was awarded the American Bronze Star for training American intelligence personnel in his ‘highly specialized branch of interrogation’

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar, in Garrard, London, case of issue; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Major F. Cassels.); Defence and War Medals 1939-45; United States of America, Bronze Star, unnamed as issued, good very fine and better (6) £1200-1600

D.S.O. London Gazette 2 January 1918.

M.I.D. London Gazette 18 December 1917.

United States of America, Bronze Star London Gazette 16 January 1948.
The original recommendation, dated 12 May 1945, states: ‘Major Frank Cassels is in command of a special section of the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Center. Upon his section depends a considerable portion of the operations of the entire interrogation center. All the American interrogation done at C.S.D.I.C. benefited from his work and that of his staff, so that his contribution to the production of many important intelligence reports was a significant one. In addition, Major Cassels assumed the burden of directly supervising the training of American intelligence personnel in his highly specialized branch of interrogation. Several hundred American officers and sergeants, most of whom subsequently served on the staffs of the American mobile intelligence units, received their instruction and experience under his auspices. He gave them his personal and unremitting attention and contributed to the later successful interrogation of enemy prisoners of war over a wide area.
It is proposed that the citation should read: “For distinguished service in the collection of important military intelligence; for the conduct of activities which contributed to the success of American interrogation; and for wisdom and patience in training American interrogating personnel.”’

Frank Cassels was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion (1st South Downs), Royal Sussex Regiment, on 1 November 1914, and served with the battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 17 June 1916. He was promoted Captain on 4 September 1916; and temporary Major on 4 March 1917, and was appointed second in command of the Battalion on 24 March 1917. Mentioned in Despatches, and created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, he relinquished his commission on 29 October 1920, retaining the rank of Major.
Having emigrated to Vancouver, British Colombia, on the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 20 September 1939, and having been advanced to Captain, transferred to the Intelligence Corps in that rank on 11 February 1942. He was based at Latimer House, one of three houses where captured German U-bat crews and Luftwaffe pilots were initially held for interrogation before being transferred to conventional prisoner of war camps. A non-commissioned officer who worked with Cassels at Latimer House recalls him thus:
‘His office was immediately on the left after you had climbed the stairs (about 6-10 steps) into the M-Room [the monitoring room in which the Listeners were based, from where they listened into the conversations of the prisoners in their cells]. It was a smallish room, which he did not share with anybody else. He had a typewriter in his office, which, as far as we knew, he used only when promotions in the M-Room were in the offing. On those occasions he would ask for carbon paper (which apparently he did not have in his office), and invariably he was given new sheets, so that we could read what he had typed when he gave them back. It was known that he always used the same phraseology when notifying staff by telephone that they had been promoted: “I understand that you are improperly dressed!” – “How is that, Sir?” – “Well, you still have Sergeant stripes on your sleeves, although you are a Sergeant Major!”, etc. I was lucky enough to experience this twice: you got automatically promoted to Sergeant when you joined C.S.D.I.C. as a future member of M-Room staff, but in a few cases (like mine) further promotions to C.S.M. and R.S.M. could follow in due course. We non-commissioned staff did not often have dealings with Cassels, who was in charge of the M-Room, but I am sure that he knew some of us by name. He was always friendly and business-like, but exactly what he was doing in his office all day we did not know. It was generally known that he liked his drink, and quite often he was noticeably “inebriated”, to put it mildly.’

Cassels relinquished his commission on 18 August 1947, and was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.